lidar

or LI·DAR

[ lahy-dahr ]

noun

, Electronics, Optics.

1. a device similar to radar in principle and operation but using infrared laser light instead of radio waves and capable of detecting particles, distant objects, and varying physical conditions in the atmosphere.

lidar

/ lī′där /

1. A method of detecting distant objects and determining their position, velocity, or other characteristics by analysis of pulsed laser light reflected from their surfaces. Lidar operates on the same principles as radar and sonar .
2. The equipment used in such detection.
3. See also Doppler effect

Word History and Origins

Origin of lidar¹

1960–65; li(ght ¹ ) + (ra)dar

Example Sentences

A second-generation — with an identical design but different lidar sensors and few other upgrades — emerged in summer 2019 ahead of its planned commercial launch in Los Angeles.

From TechCrunch

Apple’s newest Pro iPhone has even added lidar — complex sensors that use laser lights to map a scene — which could make similar images even more accurate.

From Washington Post

With lidar and other depth-sensing systems, we now have the tools to create exact software copies of everywhere and everything on earth.

From Singularity Hub 

Apple is tapping outside partners for elements of the system, including lidar sensors that provide autonomous cars with a real-time, 3-D view of the world, Reuters added.

From Fortune

Volvo said in May it will start producing vehicles in 2022 that are equipped with lidar and a perception stack developed by Luminar that the automaker will use to deploy an automated driving system for highways.

From TechCrunch

There are many other important active sensor classes, three of which are active acoustics, lidar and magnetic anomaly detectors.

From Project Gutenberg

Lidar detects shape directly and shape fluctuations such as vibration and motion and has proven very hard to spoof.

From Project Gutenberg

Islamabad is the starting-point for both the Lidar valley and Martand, and here the house-boat may be left.

From Project Gutenberg

A favourite side-valley is the Lidar, for which the road takes off from the main valley at Bijbehara.

From Project Gutenberg

And so, in marches of about ten miles a day, we came to Pahlgam on the banks of the dancing Lidar.

From Project Gutenberg